The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reported a total of 732 oil spill incidents in 2024, with sabotage responsible for nearly 60 per cent of them.
This is according to the commission’s 2024 annual report, released in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which mandates the submission of yearly operational and financial reports to the Minister of Petroleum Resources by March 31 of the following year.
According to the report, sabotage accounted for 59.01 per cent of the recorded spills.
As of January 1, 2024, Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate reserves stood at 37.50 billion barrels—up 1.45 per cent from 36.10 billion barrels the previous year. Gas reserves recorded a slight increase of 0.21 per cent to 209.26 trillion cubic feet (TCF), compared to 208.83 TCF in 2023.
Total crude oil and condensate production for the year was 578.52 million barrels. This includes 482.82 million barrels of crude oil and 95.70 million barrels of condensate.
Average daily production was 1.58 million barrels per day (bpd), made up of 1.32 million bpd of oil and 261,430 bpd of condensate. However, the production represented only 67 per cent of the technical allowable rate (TAR) set for the year. Gas production rises slightly, utilisation rate at 92%
The report shows that total gas production for 2024 stood at 2.511 TCF, with a daily average output of 6.86 billion cubic feet per day (BCF/D). Associated gas accounted for 3.92 BCF/D (57.2 per cent), while non-associated gas made up 2.94 BCF/D (42.8 per cent).
Of the total gas produced, 92.26 per cent—or 2.317 TCF—was utilised. About 0.193 TCF (7.64 per cent) was flared, while 0.003 TCF (0.10 per cent) was recorded as shrinkage.
The commission recorded ₦12.25 trillion in total revenue for 2024, representing a 76.74 per cent increase over the budgeted ₦6.93 trillion.
NUPRC’s approved budget for the year was ₦286.94 billion, with actual income amounting to ₦281.34 billion. Expenditure was reported at ₦191.12 billion.
Regulatory actions and the upcoming licensing round.
The report notes that six regulatory cases were successfully closed during the year. It also confirms that the 2024 licensing round will go ahead following the PIA, with a focus on attracting new investors into Nigeria’s prospective petroleum basins.